Progress on gender equality could be reversed without urgent action, global leaders have warned at the Women Deliver 2026 Conference in Narrm (Melbourne), as calls grow for structural reform ahead of the Melbourne Declaration.
Bringing together more than 6,000 delegates from over 189 countries, the conference has become a focal point for policymakers, advocates and community leaders responding to mounting pressures on gender equality worldwide. Speakers said overlapping crises and a growing anti-rights backlash are exposing weaknesses in systems meant to deliver progress, raising concerns about whether current frameworks are reaching those most affected.
Australia’s Minister for Women, Senator Katy Gallagher, opened the conference by reflecting on her path into politics and the role of government in driving reform. She said gender equality is now positioned at the centre of decision-making.
“We are taking a whole of government action, whether it be in workplace relations, access to justice, in economic policy, and in social services, in education, health, and housing,” said Senator Gallagher.
Ahead of the 2026–27 Budget, she pointed to structural reforms introduced during the Government’s first term, including gender-responsive budgeting, which requires policies to be assessed for their impact on women.
“Women are the backbone of the care economy, yet they were amongst the lowest paid in Australia. This is not right.”
She said the Government has funded wage increases in the care sector and introduced measures to improve transparency around pay equity.
“We are closing the gender pay gap, and we now publish the gender pay gaps of large employers and are making them set targets to reach gender equality, and meet them.”
Despite these measures, Senator Gallagher cautioned that progress remains fragile.
“When it comes to gender equality, progress is not linear and progress made today can be unwound back tomorrow. It is achieved when women make the fight for equality impossible to ignore. It is achieved when governments choose to act, to embed and entrench reform that deliver for women, and make our communities and economies stronger for everybody,” she said.
Speakers said improvements in countries such as Australia risk masking a more complex global picture, where climate change, conflict and economic instability are placing increasing pressure on women and girls.
Concerns were raised that existing systems are failing to reach vulnerable groups and, in some cases, are reinforcing inequality. This was reflected in discussions on First Nations communities, where leaders pointed to the ongoing impact of structural inequities shaped by colonisation.
Sue-Anne Hunter, Australia’s inaugural National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, said these challenges remain embedded.
“These systems have not changed. They are created to remove our children from their families so they actually work exactly the way they are intended to do.”
Her remarks reflected a broader call for policies and programmes to be designed with direct input from those most affected, with a focus on lived experience and community leadership.
The conference comes ahead of the Melbourne Declaration for Gender Equality, which organisers describe as a framework for reshaping global approaches to gender justice.
“The Melbourne Declaration is a shared commitment to rebuild a gender equality ecosystem too often shaped by donor priorities and weak accountability to people, and to root what comes next in human rights, solidarity, and the leadership of those most affected by injustice,” said Maliha Khan.
As the conference moves into its final days, attention is turning to how governments and institutions will respond to calls for reform and whether commitments made in Melbourne will translate into lasting policy change.
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